Different Options Selected in Office Than in Application Setup

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.2, 4.3
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, version 4.0
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0
• Microsoft Access 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Access, version 2.0

SYMPTOMS

When you run the Setup program for one of the Microsoft Office applications listed above, and you then run the Microsoft Office Setup program, and you select different options for the application that you previously installed, the options that are selected when you run the Microsoft Office Setup program are different than the options that are selected when you run the Setup program for the individual Microsoft Office application. This behavior occurs even when you install the application to the same directory.

For example, you run the Microsoft Word for Windows Setup program, and select only the Microsoft Word, and the Wizards, Templates, and Letters options (that is, you clear the other setup options). You then run the Microsoft Office Setup program and select only the Microsoft Word options that you did not select during the Microsoft Word Setup program (Proofing Tools, Online Help, Examples, and Demos, and the Dialog Editor options). The result is that you have installed the entire Microsoft Word application on your computer.

However, if you run the Microsoft Word Setup program again, the only selected options are Microsoft Word, and Wizards, Templates, and Letters. Alternatively, when you run the Microsoft Office Setup program, the only selected Microsoft Word options are Proofing Tools, Online Help, Examples, and Demos, and the Dialog Editor. You cannot use one Setup program to remove an option that was installed by another Setup program.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because each Setup program maintains its own Setup Table File (STF). This file includes information about which options were selected during the Setup program. The Microsoft Office Setup program uses the SETUP.STF file that is installed by the Microsoft Office Setup program, while the individual Microsoft Office application Setup program uses the SETUP.STF file that is located in the application's SETUP directory.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do either of the following:

• To maintain the installed options for the application, use the same Setup program that you used to run a complete installation of the application. For example, if you used the Microsoft Excel Setup program to run a complete installation of Microsoft Excel, use the C:\EXCEL\SETUP\SETUP.EXE file to maintain the setup options for Microsoft Excel.

  -or-

• Use only the Microsoft Office Setup program located in the Microsoft Office SETUP directory (for example C:\MSOFFICE\SETUP\SETUP.EXE) to maintain all of the installation options for the Microsoft Office programs. To use this method, you must select all of the desired installation options for the application in the Microsoft Office Setup program, even if they are already installed on your computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.